10 issues to watch in Raleigh

By PATRICK GANNON - Wilmington StarNews

Published: Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 08:50 AM.

3. Voter ID

Republican leaders — including House Speaker Thom Tillis and Gov. Pat McCrory — are now saying that they would support requiring some form of identification — but not necessarily an ID with a photo — to vote in person.

Tillis had said previously that a bill requiring a photo ID to vote would move quickly through the Legislature this year. Last session, then-Gov. Beverly Perdue vetoed the Republicans’ voter ID bill, which would have required a photo ID, and the GOP couldn’t amass enough votes to override it.

But some type of voter ID bill is still expected to emerge from the General Assembly early in 2013. Proponents of requiring a photo ID to vote say that it would safeguard elections from fraud and that photo IDs are required for many less important activities. Opponents say requiring photo IDs would deter hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians from voting.

4. Budget

The state budget is getting less attention this year, perhaps because there doesn’t appear to be a multibillion-dollar gap to fill as in the past couple of years. But the budget still holds the purse strings for government agencies, public schools, community colleges and universities, environmental and other government programs. As always, plenty of debate and controversy are anticipated, especially given the cuts Republicans have already made the past two years.

Lawmakers will return to Raleigh Jan. 30 to begin to debate legislation during the 2013 long session, which is expected to last at least four months. The following are 10 issues to watch, from a Southeastern North Carolina perspective. Of course, there are others.

1. Tax reform

Much of the pre-session talk has been about Republicans’ intentions to overhaul the state’s antiquated tax system. State Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, whose district included Pender County, will be a leader of the effort as co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

Preliminary ideas of the GOP-controlled Legislature, according to published reports, include imposing a 1-percent real estate conveyance fee, expanding sales taxes to include many services not currently taxed and increasing business license fees to offset cuts to, or the elimination of, corporate and personal income taxes. Other proposals are also being circulated.

This topic is expected to generate much debate in Raleigh for months. Advocacy groups are already weighing in on one side or the other.

The existing tax code was put in place in the 1930s. But tax reform has been attempted before and didn’t make it far. Will lawmakers find the political will to make this year different?

2. Film incentives

Film and other targeted incentives to industries will be on the table during the broader tax debate. The cities of Charlotte and Wilmington — the two most successful in the film business in North Carolina — again are urging lawmakers to extend, or eliminate, the Jan. 1, 2015, sunset date on film production tax credits in North Carolina. Both cities include the issue as part of their legislative agendas.

Last year, during an end-of-session flurry of legislation, the film incentives program was extended for a year by the GOP-led General Assembly that hasn’t always favored such perks. The film industry lost a top ally when Rep. Danny McComas, a New Hanover County Republican, retired from the Legislature last year. Most of the newer crop of Wilmington-area lawmakers has vowed to continue to fight for the industry.

Conservative advocacy groups that often have the ear of lawmakers are already calling for the elimination of the incentives altogether. But in a tough economy, the industry just finished its best year on record in the state.

Will the film incentives program survive another year of GOP rule?

3. Voter ID

Republican leaders — including House Speaker Thom Tillis and Gov. Pat McCrory — are now saying that they would support requiring some form of identification — but not necessarily an ID with a photo — to vote in person.

Tillis had said previously that a bill requiring a photo ID to vote would move quickly through the Legislature this year. Last session, then-Gov. Beverly Perdue vetoed the Republicans’ voter ID bill, which would have required a photo ID, and the GOP couldn’t amass enough votes to override it.

But some type of voter ID bill is still expected to emerge from the General Assembly early in 2013. Proponents of requiring a photo ID to vote say that it would safeguard elections from fraud and that photo IDs are required for many less important activities. Opponents say requiring photo IDs would deter hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians from voting.

4. Budget

The state budget is getting less attention this year, perhaps because there doesn’t appear to be a multibillion-dollar gap to fill as in the past couple of years. But the budget still holds the purse strings for government agencies, public schools, community colleges and universities, environmental and other government programs. As always, plenty of debate and controversy are anticipated, especially given the cuts Republicans have already made the past two years.

Medicaid and transportation spending — How should the state pay for billions of dollars of needed roads and bridges? — are expected to be topics highlighted during budget talks.

5. Coastal funding

Also part of budget negotiations will be the need for a dedicated, recurring funding source for beach nourishment, inlet dredging and similar coastal projects. With federal funding becoming more uncertain, beach towns are seeking new ways to pay for projects that counter beach erosion and keep inlets open to boat traffic.

Sen. Thom Goolsby, R-New Hanover, said he hoped funding for those types of projects would be included in the next budget.

"That’s what the whole coastal caucus will be working toward," he said, referring to a newly formed caucus of eastern N.C. legislators expected to meet regularly this year.

The city’s agenda also urges the state to invest in the economic impact of the Port of Wilmington. Some N.C. State Ports Authority board members hope the General Assembly will provide regular funding for port infrastructure.

6. Regulatory reform

Republican lawmakers began during the past two years passing "regulatory reform" legislation designed to make it easier to do business in the state by reducing government red tape. That process is expected to continue. The House created a new Regulatory Reform Committee to consider bills. Committee members include Rep. Frank Iler, R-Brunswick, as well as Catlin and Millis.

Environmental groups will be watching closely for proposals that scale back environmental protections.

Millis said in a recent interview that lawmakers would target "unnecessary regulations."

"We live on the coast, and the environment is paramount. …To me, it’s not a trade-off between environment and business."

Of course, "unnecessary" is subjective.

7. Ferries

What would a legislative session be without a debate on ferry tolls? While some lawmakers want to see riders pay more of the cost of ferry operations, they haven’t yet gotten their way. Last year, fierce opposition from coastal residents and lawmakers and a controversial executive order from Perdue persuaded Republicans to back down from plans to charge tolls on all of the state’s ferry routes and increase tolls on those that already charge passengers. The idea is expected to be revisited again in 2013.

8. Coastal insurance

This is becoming a perennial fight for coastal lawmakers, and one that will consume a lot of time during coastal caucus meetings. The Business Alliance for a Sound Economy, which represents real estate and development interests in the area, will continue to fight what it deems "excessive homeowners insurance rate discrepancies" in coastal North Carolina, according to the group’s legislative agenda.

A recent proposal by insurance companies would raise homeowner insurance rates by an average of 30 percent for beaches and inland areas along the coast. The average proposed increase statewide would be 17.7 percent, according to a filing by the N.C. Rate Bureau.

9. Eugenics

Tillis, the House speaker, has vowed to try again to pass legislation in the House to compensate victims of the state’s former eugenics program, which during parts of the last century sterilized residents deemed unfit to reproduce. McCrory has also said he supports payments to the surviving victims of the movement. But legislation to provide $50,000 to each living victim failed in the Senate last year.

So were Republicans just waiting for their governor to take office so they can take full credit for compensating victims? Or will the Senate again kill the bill?

As more victims die, it might be now or never.

10. Military

Former Gov. Beverly Perdue spent much of her time in office touting North Carolina as the most military-friendly state. And it’s no small wonder when anticipated military growth is expected to increase North Carolina’s Gross Domestic Product by $2.9 billion this year and create an additional 49,000, according to the 2008 report North Carolina’s Military Footprint: Current Economic Impacts and Estimates for 2013 created for the North Carolina Advisory Commission on Military Affairs.

However, with the war in Afghanistan winding down, and a troop drawdown underway, the military presence will undoubtedly be impacted. But to what extent depends on legislators.

“We are going to do everything we can to protect our bases and we have to present the military with an economic plan that conveys that,” McCrory told reporters during a recent visit to New Bern.